Cubera snapper

Photo: Neil DeMaster · CC BY-NC

The largest of the Caribbean snappers, reaching over a metre in length, with a distinctive heavy jaw and dull silver-grey colouring. Cubera snappers are a top predator and their presence in significant numbers indicates an unfished reef ecosystem with intact trophic structure. They aggregate in schools at predictable locations on reef walls and ledges, often mixing with grey snappers and schoolmaster snappers. Vulnerable globally due to overfishing; populations in protected areas like Tela are among the few places in the Caribbean where large schools of mature cuberas can still be reliably encountered.